Bass Notes
by gentlereader4u
Summary: An AU where Blaine is the happy owner of a small music school in NYC. Kurt bumps into him one day and in an effort to meet the mystery man, he signs up for music lessons!
1. Obsessions & Fixations

It started out innocently enough.

Leaving work at 5:30pm every day Kurt would make his way to the bus stop after figuring out by trial and error that the bus was indeed faster than the subway, and a bit more tolerable. He was always 10 minutes early for his bus and so it became a regular routine to play fruit ninja, on his iPhone while patiently waiting to make his way home.

It was mid September when Kurt first noticed him. He was jostled from his game; an innocent bystander getting the brunt of a pedestrian collision between a harried businessman and another man carrying a rather large, what looked to be an encased instrument of some sort. Apologies were offered and accepted, and the two men went their separate ways. Kurt's gaze followed the one with the instrument. He didn't see much of him, but what he saw – he liked. A nice compact body dressed impeccably. Not high fashion, like Kurt, but he could tell the man took time to put his wardrobe together with thought and purpose. He had a very handsome face framed with a mass of dark curls and when he spoke, the countenance of his voice resonated tones which, Kurt thought, blended like cream to coffee; deep and rich with a hint of bittersweet. He watched the man walk down another 50 feet or so and then disappear into one of the shops – the one that had bells on its door.

Kurt looked up and saw his bus sitting at the intersection, waiting for a green light. He knew he had time so he quickly jogged down to see which store he went into.

Bass Notes Music School

Quickly running back, he stepped in the bus and sat down, looking back again at the shop that housed the beautiful man with the instrument.

It became an obsession.

Every day after work, like clockwork, Kurt would make his way to the bus stop to wait and watch for the mystery music man. On most days the mission was successful; with said object of his masturbatory reveries walking down the street and entering the music shop always carrying an instrument of some sort. Kurt never quite figured out what the instruments were. What did he know? He sang as a child and teenager but he had never learned to read music or play anything.

It turned into a fixation.

What would he be wearing today? Would he be wearing those nice skinny jeans that complimented that fine ass so well, or proper trousers with just as glorious a cut? Would he be wearing his topsiders or his Oxfords? And really, who doesn't wear socks in September? Would he have a beanie on his head taming his loose curls or would it be his pork pie hat accenting his gelled back hair? Loose scarf tied casually around his neck or one of his adorable bow ties?

Oh the possibilities were boundless and Kurt spent a lot of time fantasizing about this every day, leaving work quickly in anticipation of being front row to view his strut down the sidewalk.

"So, what was Mr. Bow Tie Jangles wearing today?" Rachel asked her friend as they worked together at their kitchen counter making dinner.

Kurt rolled his eyes at her feeble attempt to humour. "I have no idea what or who you're talking about." He answered nonchalantly, cutting the vegetables for the salad, turning slightly to look at her with his eyebrow quirked.

"Come on Kurt" she replied pointing sprigs of lettuce at him. "You've been creeping this guy for days. Don't you think it's about time to maybe talk to him?" she suggested, tearing the lettuce into the salad bowl.

Kurt added the sliced celery and carrots and reached for the cherry tomatoes to top off the salad. "I don't know Rachel" he sighed. "What am I supposed to say? Hey, I've been stalking watching you now for days and would you like to go out with me?" he laughed adding with a wistful look on his face "Awkward." Taking their salad to the table, he set it down, checking to see if anything was forgotten. "Let's eat… Besides, I don't even know if he's gay."

Joining him at the table, Rachel handed him his plate of chicken and potatoes. "Oh come on Kurt. You said yourself that he's a looker and a dresser. And I'll have you know, I've noticed your gaydar has really improved since we moved here." she shared as he spooned out the salad for each of them.

Dressing his greens, he thought about it. "I do actually think he's gay. In fact I'm pretty certain of that. But I just don't know how to approach him."

"I GOT IT" she yelled, causing him to almost drown his salad in vinaigrette. "You said it's a music school – right?" Kurt nodded affirmative stabbing some lettuce with his fork. "Then go in and sign up for some music lessons" she suggested, smacking his arm like it was the most brilliant and devious plan that anyone had ever concocted.

"I'll concede that's not a bad idea." Kurt thought out loud. "But what would I learn? I don't know anything about instruments."

"Even better" she affirmed with another smack. "Let him decide for you!" Oh she was really proud of herself for coming up with this. Rachel loved playing matchmaker and it saddened her to no end that her bff was lonely. He deserved to find his Mr. Wonderful and damn it, she was going to do whatever she could to help him.

"Music lessons… " Kurt chewed and pondered.

Blaine Anderson loves his music school.

Let's repeat that - for it warrants to be repeated.

Blaine Anderson fucking loves his music school.

Never in his wildest dreams did he dare to hope to find the utter joy and happiness that his school gave to him. It was not the path he thought he'd take. It certainly was not the path that his parents thought he'd take.

He was raised in a home where there was an unspoken assumption that he and his brother would be Ivy League educated with the end result being a doctor or lawyer or god forbid an investment banker. But life throws curve balls and, for Blaine, certain events and stresses in his teenage years decreed that he would need to live a more subdued existence; a lifestyle that wouldn't cause overt anxiety. That discovery quickly nullified medicine and law and thank goodness, investment banking, but music was always a constant source of happiness and fulfillment for him. All through his life – the highs and lows – music was always there and it was a positive influence.

So after completing his undergrad degree in fine arts, with the full support of his parents, he used the inheritance he received from his grandparents, moved permanently to New York, bought a modest condo in Chelsea and leased a shop to open up his own music school. And he never looked back and he was never happier.

He started his school slowly by putting flyers up around the neighbourhood – pinning them on all notice boards that he could find and by visiting all the schools in his area to meet the music teachers and leave his business card, just in case they had students looking for extra lessons. His hard work paid off, and before long he had enough regular students that he needed to hire some help. Blaine was comfortable teaching piano, cello, violin and select woodwind instruments, but guitar was really popular, as was percussions and while he could get by with the beginners, he realized that he needed someone more experienced for the advanced students.

He put an advertisement in the local underground paper, and received a few applicants. He narrowed it down to two. The first was an interesting musician named Noah Puckerman, or Puck as he liked his friends to call him. The mohawked man could shred a guitar like no-one's business and was great on drums, but he didn't have any teaching experience, and Blaine wasn't sure if he'd be a good fit for the school. The other applicant was a boy named Sam Evans. Partial to country music he also played guitar at a professional level and was decent on drums. He seemed a bit more suitable, but he was also really fuckable cute and Blaine wasn't sure if Sam would end up being more of a distraction than anything. In the end, he hired them both. They both needed the work and were juggling other part-time jobs and gigs, so between them they could share the lessons.

Blaine opened the shop every day, except Sunday, at 10am and used the mornings to catch up on administrative work, order music, clean and tune instruments and book new lessons. The lessons usually began mid afternoon and went well into the evening as children got off school and adults their jobs. He would take his break at 4pm, leaving Sam or Puck in charge and he'd be back in time for 6pm lessons. He often taught until 9pm and then would close up for the evening and make his way back to his apartment. It was not an exciting life by most people's standards, but he loved it. The only thing missing was someone to share it all with.

He dated lots of men when he moved to New York. Having been sexually stifled for so long in his hometown, it was like a lid blowing off the pressure cooker, literally, when he was finally able to be himself and seek out sex with other men. But the novelty eventually wore off and the casual hookups lost their lustre. So, instead of hanging out at gay bars looking for a random, Blaine found himself spending more time in coffee houses or even just hanging out at his shop, resigning himself to a solitary life. He hadn't given up hope of meeting that someone special, but he decided to just let fate take it course, and if was meant to be, it would happen.


	2. Something Good

**A/N So first a huge thank you for your kind reviews and follows! I'm pleased like you wouldn't believe. I hope I can keep your interest and enthusiasm. So this is where I'm now going to bitch about This story is written purposely with a lot of strikeouts, which I like, but FF won't let me put them in. So, I've had to re-jig it a bit for this site. The story is on AO3 and Scarves&Coffee in its intended format. The story's the same - its just the layout is different. So, if you're interested, take a gander, but otherwise, I'll continue to post it here...sans strikeout... sigh...**

Noah was working the Friday afternoon shift. He had a gig later that night at one of the bars in the Lower East Side and was hoping that Blaine would let him off a bit early. Working at Bass Notes was pretty rad, although he wasn't meeting the chicks like he thought he would. Ended up that the students mostly ranged from pimply awkward middle school kids to the newly divorced women, looking to "expand their horizons" and learn new things. And of course there were the few token men who were actively going through their middle-aged crisis picking up their old guitars, attempting to replicate Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple. But there was a noticeable lack of hot 20 something babes and for that Puck was sorely disappointed. But the money was decent, and the boss was cool.

Puck hadn't been around a lot of gay guys before he came to New York. At first he was a bit uncomfortable. Not with the gender preference per se, but more that he didn't know how to act or what to say. What if the dude was checking him out? What if he got asked out? What was it like to hold another guy's dick? He soon had it figured out that his fears were unfounded because none of them seemed to show any interest in the Puckster to begin with. But Blaine was a pretty cool little dude. He was sick talented and was well liked by everyone. All things considered, Puck had himself a sweet deal here at Bass Notes and hoped he'd have his job for a long time.

He was busy looking at the schedule of lessons when the door opened with a jangle. Looking up from the laptop, he watched a guy slowly entered the school, trying in vain to subdue the bells that were tied to the doorknob.

"Hey there. Welcome to Bass Notes" Puck greeted him.

The man closed the door and looked around the room, taking in all the instruments hanging on the wall, along with the stands and the cabinet where all the sheet music was housed.

"Hi and thank you" he answered back to Puck with a nervous grin as he stepped up towards the front desk.

"Are you here for a lesson?" Puck asked looking quickly at the schedule. He hadn't seen him before in the school – must be new.

"No, actually, I was just… er… em.. I was just thinking about taking lessons – you know – learn something new!" Kurt exclaimed fanning his hands out. He looked and felt a little flush. Whoever was this man with multiple piercings on his face? He was not Kurt's cute mystery man, and where the hell was he? He was always here by the time. Kurt would know – Kurt stalked him every day.

He'd have to take the leap.

"Isn't there normally another guy here at this shop?" Kurt asked looking anywhere and everywhere except into Puck's eyes. "It's just that I've seen this other man here before and thought perhaps he was a teacher?" Kurt was blushed ten shades of pink and really wished the floor would just open up and swallow him whole.

Now Puck might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but when it comes to hookups he's pretty quick on the draw…

"Ahhhh… you must be referring to Blaine, the owner" Puck replied with a grin.

Blaine. Kurt rolled the name on his tongue in silence.

"Yeah" Puck continued with a smirk "He's still on his dinner break. But he should be back any time now. If you want to wait, you can take a look at the instruments and there's lots of music over there that you can go through. Get a head start."

Puck winked at Kurt as to say he completely understood what Kurt wanted and he, Noah Puckerman, was completely on board with it. Shit, the little dude needed to get some, and while he didn't know what Blaine's type was, this guy was super easy on the eyes. Say what?

Before Kurt could say anything else, the door opened with a jangle, startling him. Hoping, but terrified, that it would be Blaine, he turned around to find a little girl with a big guitar strapped to her back.

'Hey Camryn. You're just in time. Head down to room #2 and I'll be there in a jiff" Puck greeted his student.

"OK Noah. I've been practicing lots this week. You're going to be very happy with my progress." she shared with him as she made her way down the hall to the room.

Puck laughed and turned back to Kurt. "I've got a lesson now. So if you're staying that's cool. Like I said, Blaine should be here any minute." Walking down to the lesson room, he turned and asked, "Hey, if anyone else should come in before Blaine gets here, can you come get me?"

"Sure… sure…" Kurt replied with a weak smile and a nod.

"Cool. Thanks bro" Puck smiled and fake pistol shot him before entering the music room, allowing Kurt to hyperventilate in private. All he really wanted to do was abort this stupid idea of Rachel's and head home to the comforts of his dull apartment. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he turned his attention to the instruments on display. Slowly dragging his finger along shiny blonde wood, Kurt was fairly certain it was a violin. He had no idea what the other stringed ones were. And there were a few strange looking instruments that didn't have strings but looked more like really big recorders. Honestly, he had no idea what he was doing there. He was so out of his comfort zone, that he needed a whole new expression to describe his state.

Just as he was going to start delving into the sheet music, the door opened again jangling the bells. Kurt looked up and drew in a quick breath. It was Blaine.

He didn't see Kurt, as he hummed a tune, while setting down whatever it was that he was carrying, to take his jacket off…. Ooh la la - the boy has his fine ass skinny jeans on with a very fit polo shirt. It was Kurt's favourite combination.

Kurt cleared his throat to signal his presence, not wanting to freak the man out completely. Unfortunately he did anyways. Blaine jumped at the noise, turning around abruptly with a startled look on his face, holding a hand to his chest.

"Oh My God. You startled me!" Blaine said, finding his voice. "I didn't see you when I came in."

"Yes I realized that. I'm sorry. I figured it was better than yelling something out" Kurt replied with an apologetic smile.

"Well, I don't know if it was better or worse. I'll tell you when my heart starts beating normally again" Blaine joked, tapping his hand on his chest.

There was a moment of slight awkwardness; both taking one another in, and not really knowing how to continue the conversation. Blaine found his manners first.

"I'm sorry. I'm being rude. Can I help you with something? Is it lessons maybe that you're interested in?" he asked as he walked over. "I'm Blaine, by the way. Blaine Anderson" holding out his hand for Kurt to shake.

Kurt took the bait, placing his hand firmly in Blaine's. "Kurt. Kurt Hummel. And I'm not sure if I want to take lessons or not?" he said, slowly releasing Blaine's hand, wishing he had a reason to keep holding it. "I thought it might be fun to try, but I really don't know anything about playing music. I used to sing a lot, but never played anything." Kurt rambled on nervously not able to just shut the fuck up.

"Well, Kurt Hummel. It's nice to meet you. Let's look at the instruments here and see if there's anything you fancy." Blaine suggested with a wink.

"This is a violin." he noted, holding up the instrument that Kurt had been fondling. "Its not the easiest one to begin with – at least not for adults." Blaine looked around tapping his index finger to his mouth. "Oh, and then there's the cousin of the violin, the cello. It's a little easier in that you can sit and it rests on the floor, but it's still strings." he explained looking at Kurt for a sign of interest.

"Hmmm…no, I don't think I want to learn anything with strings" Kurt decided.

"Ok then, how about we look at the woodwinds?" Blaine suggested, leading Kurt over to the area that housed the weird instruments. "This is an oboe" he showed Kurt what he has self-described as the large recorder. "It has a double reed though so maybe that's too complicated" Blaine decided thinking out loud. "There's the clarinet?" Blaine pointed to another recorder. "It's pretty popular for beginners."

"Oh and how about the flute?" Blaine asked, picking up the small instrument. "It's tiny and easy to transport. And it sounds really lovely." Blaine shared, looking at Kurt intently as he placed the flute in the boy's hands.

"Well, it is pretty." Kurt said holding it lightly in his hands. "You'd be able to teach me how to play this?" Kurt asked.

"Actually, no I wouldn't be your teacher." Blaine hesitated with his brow creased. "I'm not that well versed with the flute" he admitted. "But I have a great teacher on call. We could arrange some lessons with her if you want to go with this one."

"Oh… well…. hmmm I'm not really sure." Kurt placed the flute back down in its case. So, what instruments do you teach? … just out of curiosity" Kurt asked with a flush to his cheeks.

Blaine smiled. "Well, I teach the string instruments... all of them. And I teach piano, and saxophone on a beginner level. Once a student's progressed past that point I refer them to another person I have lined up. There's also a great community band for beginners and intermediate players that I can place my students in once they know the basics."

"Saxophone…. I like that!" Kurt's eyes lit up. "That's the one that jazz players play… right?"

Blaine nodded enthusiastically "Yes. For jazz its mostly sax, trumpet, trombone and percussions."

"OK," Kurt clapped his hands. "I want to play jazz Blaine!"

Blaine ducked his head as he chuckled "Ok Kurt. Well we can start off with the basics and work our way up to Sonny Rollins status if you get good enough." he joked with smiling eyes. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Kurt agreed.

"Which saxophone do you want to learn?" Blaine asked.

What do you mean which saxophone?" Kurt was clearly confused. "There's more than one?"

Well, yes, there's alto and tenor. Those are the two most popular. And there's also soprano, but no-one plays that except Kenny G."

Kurt scrunched his face. "No. No Kenny G."

"Yeah, I'm totally with you. There's also a baritone sax, but they're extremely hard to carry around and they're more for advanced players. I'd go with either the alto or the tenor for you." Blaine suggested, rummaging through the cases that he had stored below the display.

"Which is easier?"

"There's no real difference in ease. The alto is smaller, so again, it's easier to carry around. You can always progress to the tenor down the road. They play the exact same way. The tenor just takes a bit more air."

"Hmmm" Kurt looked at Blaine, who was just patiently waiting for Kurt to make up his mind. "I'll go with the alto saxophone." Kurt decided.

"Good choice Kurt" Blaine commended him with a hand to his shoulder. "Let's get this baby out and we can go over a plan for you. How often did you want to come in for the lessons?" he asked as they made their way back to the counter.

By the time Kurt left the shop he had signed up for lessons twice a week with Blaine yay at 6pm. He'd go there directly after work. He had himself a shiny Yamaha alto saxophone in a hard case. They had pulled the instrument out, with Blaine showing him how to put it together, hold it properly, how to clip on the neck strap, and how to clean it afterwards. He explained the reeds and how they worked and encouraged him to take some time to get comfortable with the instrument prior to their first lesson, which would happen two days from then.

Yes, he left the shop head held high, with his newly rented alto sax and all the confidence in the world. Before long he, Kurt Hummel, would become the next Sonny Bono….. no… shit….. that wasn't it….. Sonny…..? WTF... Who did Blaine say again?

Oh whatever. He'd become the next really famous person that played the saxophone.

Blaine watched him out of the shop window.

Something happened that night.

Something good


End file.
